Chapter 553: Just want to take you all to live well

"Damn, bullying me for not bringing drones? Otherwise, I'd definitely lead them back!"

Wu Lue was so angry that he jumped when he heard the other party using drones to lead zombies. This was his specialty area, but unfortunately, he hadn't thought that he would experience so many severe moments on this trip, and the high-end drones were left in the camp, with several sets of batteries still charging...

"Want drones? We have them. The barracks have two usable reconnaissance drones. Do you want them?"

Li Zongkai stood on the side and spoke up when he heard they wanted to use drones.

"Holy crap, holy crap... Brother Su, there's a new situation. There should be mutant zombies in the zombie horde. The drones seem to have been attacked and crashed!"

It was as if the other side had heard the discussion here. Just as they mentioned drones, one crashed over there...

Hearing Qi Xiaoshuai's words, Li Zongkai shook his hands, meaning: look at this mess...

Everyone curled their lips. This mutant zombie that could attack drones from the air was too damn strong. No one noticed that Chen Hanzhou made a face in the crowd. If there was anyone who hoped to encounter mutant zombies, he was one.

"If there are really one hundred thousand zombies, it's too damn normal to have mutant zombies, and maybe there's more than one or two!"

Zhang Su complained, then looked at Li Zongkai and pointed to the northeast direction: "Old Li, have you cleared the wholesale mall over there?"

There was a wholesale market built a few years ago to the northeast of the barracks, about two kilometers away. When it was completed four or five years ago, business was okay, but good times didn't last long. It was glorious for only a year or two, and then it became increasingly depressed.

In the end, it was said that they didn't even want rent, just needed to pay property fees to use the storefront. But even so, the four-story building only had some shops on the first floor struggling to support it.

Zhang Su liked to go to this wholesale mall to buy things because the rent was cheap and the prices of goods were low.

"Cleared it!"

Li Zongkai pointed to the northeast: "The wholesale mall was our key search target. It should be relatively clean inside. We didn't lock any zombies in there."

"That's good!" Zhang Su nodded with satisfaction. Talking to smart people was comfortable; he didn't even need to say too much, and the other party could understand what he wanted to know.

He picked up the walkie-talkie: "Xiaoshuai, listen well, withdraw immediately. Go to the wholesale mall you passed before and keep an eye on it. Report immediately once you find the zombie horde approaching!"

According to Zhang Su's calculation, from the wholesale mall, you could see the situation four or five kilometers away. If you could see the zombie horde, it meant it was less than ten kilometers from the barracks, entering an emergency area!

After instructing Qi Xiaoshuai and Pang Dakun, Zhang Su looked at the crowd in front of him, took a deep breath, and said: "We won't fight this battle. Eliminating zombies is every human's duty. There's no reason for us to wipe someone else's ass. Everyone, attention!"

The words were rough but the meaning was not. After the order was given, more than twenty people stood straight. Behind the crowd, Ding Yongguo elbowed Zheng Ziwen, who hadn't reacted, knocking him out more than a meter. Zheng Ziwen stood up straight, rubbing his arm with a wronged expression.

"Immediately participate in the packing work and prepare to withdraw from the barracks!"

Zhang Su waved his hand, and everyone moved in response.

"What... is there really no possibility of a clash?"

The combat power of Civilization Guardian had just gathered when Wu Daqiang received the withdrawal news. His face was full of disbelief, and the combat personnel around him also showed expressions of regret, but most were secretly glad. Battle meant risk, and not clashing was the best choice.

"Clash my ass. One hundred thousand zombies, there must be hundreds of big guys inside, and there are mutant zombies that can shoot down drones from the air. What are we going to clash with? Even the light tanks over there could be flattened!"

Zhao Dezhu's face was very ugly, with a feeling of nausea like eating a fly.

He wasn't as rational as Zhang Su, Yu Wen, and others. He always felt that this zombie horde was an unprovoked disaster, led over by the Shanhai District side to pit people, and they should retaliate immediately, the sooner the better.

"This... listening to Squad Leader Wu, your Tianma Islet Yama Legion is quite strong, and you've eliminated tens of thousands of zombies before. Are there any special bombs? Can't you bomb them again? Why must you withdraw?"

Gangzi, one of the two surviving soldier brothers in the barracks, was very excited.

"What kind of words are you saying? Listening to your tone, are you saying we are deliberately withdrawing from here?"

Zhao Dezhu stopped the work in his hands. His stomach was full of fire and he couldn't find a place to vent it. He hadn't expected someone to bump into the muzzle of the gun.

"Don't be excited, everyone don't be excited!"

Yu Wen saw the situation and hurriedly walked over to appease: "Young man, I remember you. You were a survivor of this barracks at the time. It seems there was another one named... named Little Liu, who even competed in shooting with our team's sharpshooter, right?"

Gangzi was very excited, but seeing Yu Wen's humble and smiling attitude, he couldn't vent his anger. He puffed out his cheeks and said: "Brother Liu, he... he sacrificed while performing a mission two months ago!"

"What a misfortune."

Yu Wen shook his head with sorrow, then said earnestly.

"I understand that you two have deep feelings for everything here, but please don't misunderstand us. Mr. Zhang didn't want to withdraw. The previous arrangement was to transfer people from the auto park, kindergarten, and Le Gou Mall over, using the barracks as a support to build a defensive fortress. Unfortunately..."

Speaking of this, Yu Wen paused, showing reluctance, and continued: "Unfortunately, the current situation is too severe, not allowing us to implement it according to the original plan. In the current environment, even the Yama King cannot be willful with everyone's lives."

After the words were finished, everyone shook their heads. The act of "the person is in the city, the city is in the person" sounded blood-boiling, but after boiling, it cooled down. There were not so many heroic acts of no turning back; being able to live was the best choice.

"But..."

"Gangzi!"

Wu Daqiang saw Gangzi still wanting to argue, put his hand on his shoulder, and shook his head at him. The other party had already made it so clear. This wasn't a matter of one or two people; one decision was the safety of hundreds of people's lives!

In the past, hundreds of people didn't sound like much, but nowadays, this number was already very exaggerated. No one could joke with the lives of hundreds of people!

"Old Yu is right!"

Zhang Su had just been outside instructing people on packing supplies and heard the argument here, so he walked over.

"The scale of the zombie horde is far beyond imagination, and there is the variable of mutant zombies. If we clash head-on, there will definitely be countless casualties. Since there is a way out, there is no reason to choose to take risks! As for the bombs you mentioned just now, I didn't bring them on this trip; they are left at Tianma Islet!"

Did he really not bring them? Of course not, it was just unnecessary to use them.

"Then... then just forget it? This zombie horde was led over by the Shanhai District side! I'm not reconciled!"

Gangzi said what he was truly angry about. Withdrawing wasn't shameful; it could be considered a tactical transfer, but being forced to leave now made him feel aggrieved.

Zhao Dezhu had a strange expression on his face after hearing Gangzi's words. He felt a bit sorry for losing his temper with the other party just now. He hadn't expected the other party to have the same thoughts as himself...

Zhang Su felt Gangzi's anger, nodded, and tried his best to release peaceful emotions in his heart, saying calmly: "Whether the people in Shanhai District led the zombie horde over unintentionally or deliberately, it doesn't matter. Leading the zombie horde away from the camp is a basic operation. I have also done this many times, and I believe you are no exception. Survival is always the first priority. Less fighting for breath, more rational judgment!"

"My wish is actually very simple: to take everyone to live safely, not to make you all zombie butchers!"

Was it that he didn't want to investigate the responsibility? It was that he couldn't!

It was that there was no opportunity at this time! Since there was no opportunity, let everyone dispel this thought. As a leader, he must play a leading role at this time. Whether convinced or blindly following, focus on the present and don't remember the hatred that might not have a chance to be avenged at all!

Being happy and seeking revenge leads to death; retreating and enduring leads to freedom...

"I understand, Brother Su. It was just a moment of being unable to accept it and complaining. We'll pack up!"

Wu Daqiang squeezed Gangzi's shoulder hard. He was clearly much calmer than before.

The anger and unwillingness on Gangzi's face also gradually subsided after Zhang Su's words. Not only him, but the helplessness, unwillingness, reluctance, and other negative emotions on the faces of some people around were all turning toward calmness.

Everyone had a feeling in their hearts that Zhang Su's words were very reasonable, making people feel relieved after listening to them. Simply put, they were willing to listen to him...

Liu Yao stood in the crowd and nodded frequently, then suddenly hissed and walked to Yang Xinqi's side, thoughtful: "Old Yang, you say if these zombies aren't killed, they'll be a disaster. Will we avoid this zombie horde, only to encounter a bigger one next time?"

"Do you believe I'll report you for talking nonsense? Damn!" Yang Xinqi was holding paper and pen and recording something. Hearing Liu Yao speak, the veins on his forehead burst with anger.

"Don't, don't, I was just muttering, talking nonsense, don't mind it. You're busy, I'm going to get busy too."

Liu Yao suddenly remembered that Zhang Su had already "legislated" and wouldn't let him make any form of prediction about the future, so he hurriedly slipped away.

Zhang Su had already left at this time and didn't hear Liu Yao's words. He couldn't be idle at all and needed to go to various places to repeat the same work, which was to appease emotions.

In this process, he slowly explored and tried, and finally roughly measured the range of influencing people's moods. With himself as the center, it could reach about one hundred meters at the farthest, depending on the strength of the emotion.

When it was weak, it could only influence two or three meters in front of him, suitable for face-to-face conversation scenarios. When it was strong, it would radiate a larger range, suitable for mobilization meetings and speeches.

As for whether this ability was affected by the strength of his own energy, he didn't test it. Currently, the energy value was at eighty-seven percent. The situation was complex, and he didn't want to enable a new energy slot specifically to verify the ability.

After verifying the range of emotional influence, he was worried for a while. Under normal circumstances, there was no problem, and emotional control was becoming more and more proficient. Even if he occasionally lost control, he could adjust quickly. But when it was late at night...

For example, in the dark of night, in the residence of Tianma Islet's Little Luck, a deep and shallow exchange was taking place. Wouldn't the whole Tianma Islet be lively?

Fortunately, things weren't that bad. Zhang Su discovered that as long as there was a physical obstruction, the effect of emotional influence would be reduced. A wall or a window had a blocking effect. If he was in a closed room, it would be completely isolated, even if someone was sticking to the door, it wouldn't cause an impact.

"It can also be considered a soft switch... Since that's the case, what organ is releasing emotions?"

Zhang Su let out a sigh of relief in his heart and continued to ponder. He felt it couldn't be that every pore of the whole person was emitting emotions; there must be a transmitting organ. Unfortunately, there was no time to continue testing.

"Brother Su! They're here! There are zombies coming this way, not as many as before, they should have been scattered by the drones!"

The packing work was in full swing. Zhang Su was checking the inventory in the weapon warehouse. The walkie-talkie on his waist rang. He glanced at the time.

Thirty-eight minutes had passed since he notified Qi Xiaoshuai and Pang Dakun to withdraw to this moment!

He calculated quickly in his heart. If the speed of the zombies was in a flat state, they would arrive at the barracks within twenty minutes.

"Good, come back, hurry!"

After Zhang Su finished notifying, he put the walkie-talkie into his bag, then clapped his hands and said to the busy crowd: "Everyone pay attention to the time, there are ten minutes left, hurry, hurry!"

"Big brother, this zombie horde has probably locked onto us, or locked onto the brothers at the Le Gou Mall side. If so, even if we withdraw to Le Gou Mall, we still can't avoid a battle, right?"

Zhao Dezhu waited for Zhang Su to finish announcing and walked to his side with some anxiety to ask.

"Who told you we were withdrawing to Le Gou Mall?"

Zhang Su looked at Zhao Dezhu with some surprise.

As soon as this was said, the people around who heard it looked at Zhang Su one after another. There were Civilization Guardian members, as well as Yama Legion members like Zheng Xinyu and Chen Hanzhou.

Everyone had a question mark in their hearts. Wasn't it? Zhang Su read everyone's thoughts and shook his head slowly: "Since zombies like city life, let's leave Qincheng to them. We'll go back to Tianma Islet. Ten minutes ago, I already contacted the fruit guy. They are packing up much faster than us!"

The one hundred and fifty or sixty people in the kindergarten had already arrived at Le Gou Mall and hadn't had time to find a place to open their bedding rolls before receiving the news that they needed to transfer again. This news was only effective when Zhang Su personally delivered it. If it were any other person, Le Gou Mall would definitely have more than half of the people expressing extreme dissatisfaction! No one doubted that Zhang Xin had passed on false news, unless he didn't want to live.

Zhang Su's choice couldn't be said to be correct every time, but at least it was very steady and had never gone wrong. Just like what was said in The Art of War, in a situation where victory couldn't be guaranteed, first guarantee not to be defeated. Winning by fighting was not being defeated; not fighting could also guarantee not being defeated!

No one in the mall dared to hesitate. After receiving the order, they immediately started packing.

More than four hundred people were busy together. Originally, there weren't many supplies, plus there were plenty of people. It was like a locust crossing the border. Except for the furniture that was truly useless, everything else in Le Gou Mall was packed and ready to go...

"No..."

Zhao Dezhu was stunned, his brain couldn't turn around for a moment. After his CPU overclocked for three or four seconds, he recovered and said in surprise: "So many people are going to Tianma Islet. Not to mention whether it can fit, won't the zombies come rushing to the north?"

Attracting zombies was an unavoidable problem. The growth rate of the population must be positively correlated with the defensive power to effectively resist zombies. Otherwise, it was very likely to lead to a disaster!

There was no need to worry much about the area further north of Tianma Islet. A large wave of zombies attracted by the Qinglong Legion had already been killed quite a bit. Even if there were zombies in the north, there must be other survivor camps blocking them further north.

Under the law of attraction, no survivor camp could be lucky.

"So many people..."

Lu Yubo heard Zhang Su's decision and was also full of disgust.

Currently, Tianma Islet was quite comfortable in terms of defensive strength, population density, and living index. Suddenly, the population surged. Even if they didn't live at Tianma Islet, they would definitely be in the nearby villages. Thinking of the large number of people, he felt it was very troublesome.

However, he didn't express any opinion because he knew his status and ability very well.

Zhang Su knew that everyone had their own thoughts, but in the face of the general trend, he couldn't take care of anyone's feelings, including his own.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 554 =====